Magdalena Stenbock was a politically active Swedish Noble

Nobility

Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

 (countess) and salon holder

Salon (gathering)

A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...

. She was married to the statesman (Council President) Count Bengt Gabrielsson Oxenstierna

Bengt Gabrielsson Oxenstierna

Count Bengt Gabrielsson Oxenstierna , Swedish statesman, was the son of Axel Oxenstierna’s cousin, Gabriel Bengtsson Oxenstierna . Married to Magdalena Stenbock.- Career :...

 from 1667. She was a contact for many foreign ambassador

Ambassador

An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....

s and promoted an anti-French policy through her husband and his office.

Magdalena was born to Count Erik Stenbock, a descendant to Queen Katarina Stenbock

Katarina Stenbock

Catherine Stenbock was the third and last consort of King Gustav I of Sweden, and Queen consort of Sweden between 1552 and 1560...

, and the sister of the lady in waiting Hedvig Eleonora Stenbock

Hedvig Eleonora Stenbock

Hedvig Eleonora Stenbock was a Swedish noble and lady-in-waiting.Daughter of Count Erik Stenbock and related to queen Katarina Stenbock; sister of the political salonist Magdalena Stenbock. She was described as beautiful and well educated and could speak French, German and Italian...

.

Her salon was a gathering place for the foreign ambassadors posted in Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

 and it was said that her gambling table was a centre of the Swedish alliance- and foreign policy. Her influence was well acknowledged in dimplomatic reports by foreign powers, who named her as an important contact in Swedish politics. She was described as a skillfull intriguer and "In wisdom above her husband and her gender", and in foreign reports about the views of her spouse, which were important due to his political position, it was in fact not mentioned what the Count thought about something, but rather what "The Count and the Countess" thought as a couple. Stenbock was strictly anti-French and pro-Habsburg

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

: she worked well with the Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n ambassador Stahremburg and the Danish reported that she was politically bought by the Holy Roman Emperor

Holy Roman Emperor

The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

. She promoted an alliance with Austria toward Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

.

As a person, she was described as very haughty. In 1697, during the fire of the royal palace Tre kronor (castle)

Tre kronor (castle)

Tre Kronor or Three Crowns was a castle located in Stockholm, Sweden, on the site where Stockholm Palace is today. It is believed to have been a citadel that Birger Jarl built into a royal castle in the middle of the 13th century...

, the royal family sought refuge in her home.

Literature

• Norrhem, Svante (in Swedish): Kvinnor vid maktens sida : 1632-1772 (In English: "Women by the side of power: 1632-1772") (2007) Lund (Nordic Academic Press)
• Wilhelmina Stålberg, Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor (1864)